1. |
- van Haarlem, M. P., et al.
(author)
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LOFAR : The LOw-Frequency ARray
- 2013
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 556, s. 1-53
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- LOFAR, the LOw-Frequency ARray, is a new-generation radio interferometer constructed in the north of the Netherlands and across europe. Utilizing a novel phased-array design, LOFAR covers the largely unexplored low-frequency range from 10–240 MHz and provides a number of unique observing capabilities. Spreading out from a core located near the village of Exloo in the northeast of the Netherlands, a total of 40 LOFAR stations are nearing completion. A further five stations have been deployed throughout Germany, and one station has been built in each of France, Sweden, and the UK. Digital beam-forming techniques make the LOFAR system agile and allow for rapid repointing of the telescope as well as the potential for multiple simultaneous observations. With its dense core array and long interferometric baselines, LOFAR achieves unparalleled sensitivity and angular resolution in the low-frequency radio regime. The LOFAR facilities are jointly operated by the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) foundation, as an observatory open to the global astronomical community. LOFAR is one of the first radio observatories to feature automated processing pipelines to deliver fully calibrated science products to its user community. LOFAR’s new capabilities, techniques and modus operandi make it an important pathfinder for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). We give an overview of the LOFAR instrument, its major hardware and software components, and the core science objectives that have driven its design. In addition, we present a selection of new results from the commissioning phase of this new radio observatory.
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2. |
- Stappers, B. W., et al.
(author)
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Observing pulsars and fast transients with LOFAR
- 2011
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 530
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Low frequency radio waves, while challenging to observe, are a rich source of information about pulsars. The LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is a new radio interferometer operating in the lowest 4 octaves of the ionospheric "radio window": 10-240 MHz, that will greatly facilitate observing pulsars at low radio frequencies. Through the huge collecting area, long baselines, and flexible digital hardware, it is expected that LOFAR will revolutionize radio astronomy at the lowest frequencies visible from Earth. LOFAR is a next-generation radio telescope and a pathfinder to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), in that it incorporates advanced multi-beaming techniques between thousands of individual elements. We discuss the motivation for low-frequency pulsar observations in general and the potential of LOFAR in addressing these science goals. We present LOFAR as it is designed to perform high-time-resolution observations of pulsars and other fast transients, and outline the various relevant observing modes and data reduction pipelines that are already or will soon be implemented to facilitate these observations. A number of results obtained from commissioning observations are presented to demonstrate the exciting potential of the telescope. This paper outlines the case for low frequency pulsar observations and is also intended to serve as a reference for upcoming pulsar/fast transient science papers with LOFAR.
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3. |
- Heald, G. H., et al.
(author)
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The LOFAR Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS) : I. Survey description and first results
- 2015
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 582, s. 1-22
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS), the first northern-sky Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) imaging survey. In this introductory paper, we first describe in detail the motivation and design of the survey. Compared to previous radio surveys, MSSS is exceptional due to its intrinsic multifrequency nature providing information about the spectral properties of the detected sources over more than two octaves (from 30 to 160 MHz). The broadband frequency coverage, together with the fast survey speed generated by LOFAR’s multibeaming capabilities, make MSSS the first survey of the sort anticipated to be carried out with the forthcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Two of the sixteen frequency bands included in the survey were chosen to exactly overlap the frequency coverage of large-area Very Large Array (VLA) and Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) surveys at 74 MHz and 151 MHz respectively. The survey performance is illustrated within the MSSS Verification Field (MVF), a region of 100 square degrees centered at (α,δ)J2000 = (15h,69°). The MSSS results from the MVF are compared with previous radio survey catalogs. We assess the flux and astrometric uncertainties in the catalog, as well as the completeness and reliability considering our source finding strategy. We determine the 90% completeness levels within the MVF to be 100 mJy at 135 MHz with 108″ resolution, and 550 mJy at 50 MHz with 166″ resolution. Images and catalogs for the full survey, expected to contain 150 000–200 000 sources, will be released to a public web server. We outline the plans for the ongoing production of the final survey products, and the ultimate public release of images and source catalogs.
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4. |
- Stewart, A. J., et al.
(author)
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LOFAR MSSS : detection of a low-frequency radio transient in 400 h of monitoring of the North Celestial Pole
- 2016
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 456:3, s. 2321-2342
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the results of a four-month campaign searching for low-frequency radio transients near the North Celestial Pole with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), as part of the Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS). The data were recorded between 2011 December and 2012 April and comprised 2149 11-min snapshots, each covering 175 deg2. We have found one convincing candidate astrophysical transient, with a duration of a few minutes and a flux density at 60 MHz of 15–25 Jy. The transient does not repeat and has no obvious optical or high-energy counterpart, as a result of which its nature is unclear. The detection of this event implies a transient rate at 60 MHz of 3.9−3.7+14.7×10−4" style="position: relative;" tabindex="0" id="MathJax-Element-1-Frame" class="MathJax">3.9+14.7−3.7×10−4 d−1 deg−2, and a transient surface density of 1.5 × 10−5 deg−2, at a 7.9-Jy limiting flux density and ∼10-min time-scale. The campaign data were also searched for transients at a range of other time-scales, from 0.5 to 297 min, which allowed us to place a range of limits on transient rates at 60 MHz as a function of observation duration.
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5. |
- Arias, M., et al.
(author)
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Low-frequency radio absorption in Cassiopeia A
- 2018
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 612
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Cassiopeia A is one of the best-studied supernova remnants. Its bright radio and X-ray emission is due to shocked ejecta. Cas A is rather unique in that the unshocked ejecta can also be studied: through emission in the infrared, the radio-active decay of Ti-44, and the low-frequency free-free absorption caused by cold ionised gas, which is the topic of this paper. Aims. Free-free absorption processes are affected by the mass, geometry, temperature, and ionisation conditions in the absorbing gas. Observations at the lowest radio frequencies can constrain a combination of these properties. Methods. We used Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Low Band Antenna observations at 30-77 MHz and Very Large Array (VLA) L-band observations at 1-2 GHz to fit for internal absorption as parametrised by the emission measure. We simultaneously fit multiple UV-matched images with a common resolution of 17 '' (this corresponds to 0.25 pc for a source at the distance of Cas A). The ample frequency coverage allows us separate the relative contributions from the absorbing gas, the unabsorbed front of the shell, and the absorbed back of the shell to the emission spectrum. We explored the effects that a temperature lower than the similar to 100-500 K proposed from infrared observations and a high degree of clumping can have on the derived physical properties of the unshocked material, such as its mass and density. We also compiled integrated radio flux density measurements, fit for the absorption processes that occur in the radio band, and considered their effect on the secular decline of the source. Results. We find a mass in the unshocked ejecta of M = 2.95 +/- 0.48 M-circle dot for an assumed gas temperature of T = 100 K. This estimate is reduced for colder gas temperatures and, most significantly, if the ejecta are clumped. We measure the reverse shock to have a radius of 114 '' +/- 6 '' and be centred at 23:23:26, +58:48:54 (J2000). We also find that a decrease in the amount of mass in the unshocked ejecta (as more and more material meets the reverse shock and heats up) cannot account for the observed low-frequency behaviour of the secular decline rate. Conclusions. To reconcile our low-frequency absorption measurements with models that reproduce much of the observed behaviour in Cas A and predict little mass in the unshocked ejecta, the ejecta need to be very clumped or the temperature in the cold gas needs to be low (similar to 10 K). Both of these options are plausible and can together contribute to the high absorption value that we find.
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6. |
- Buitink, S., et al.
(author)
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A large light-mass component of cosmic rays at 1017–1017.5 electronvolts from radio observations
- 2016
-
In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 531:7592, s. 70-73
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cosmic rays are the highest-energy particles found in nature. Measurements of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies of 1017–1018 electronvolts are essential to understanding whether they have galactic or extragalactic sources. It has also been proposed that the astrophysical neutrino signal1 comes from accelerators capable of producing cosmic rays of these energies2. Cosmic rays initiate air showers—cascades of secondary particles in the atmosphere—and their masses can be inferred from measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum3 (Xmax; the depth of the air shower when it contains the most particles) or of the composition of shower particles reaching the ground4. Current measurements5 have either high uncertainty, or a low duty cycle and a high energy threshold. Radio detection of cosmic rays6, 7, 8 is a rapidly developing technique9 for determining Xmax (refs 10, 11) with a duty cycle of, in principle, nearly 100 per cent. The radiation is generated by the separation of relativistic electrons and positrons in the geomagnetic field and a negative charge excess in the shower front6, 12. Here we report radio measurements of Xmax with a mean uncertainty of 16 grams per square centimetre for air showers initiated by cosmic rays with energies of 1017–1017.5 electronvolts. This high resolution in Xmax enables us to determine the mass spectrum of the cosmic rays: we find a mixed composition, with a light-mass fraction (protons and helium nuclei) of about 80 per cent. Unless, contrary to current expectations, the extragalactic component of cosmic rays contributes substantially to the total flux below 1017.5 electronvolts, our measurements indicate the existence of an additional galactic component, to account for the light composition that we measured in the 1017–1017.5 electronvolt range.
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7. |
- Morosan, D. E., et al.
(author)
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LOFAR tied-array imaging of Type III solar radio bursts
- 2014
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 568, s. articl no. A67-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The Sun is an active source of radio emission which is often associated with energetic phenomena such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). At low radio frequencies (
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8. |
- Schellart, P., et al.
(author)
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Detecting cosmic rays with the LOFAR radio telescope
- 2013
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 560, s. 1-14
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The low frequency array (LOFAR), is the first radio telescope designed with the capability to measure radio emission from cosmic-ray induced air showers in parallel with interferometric observations. In the first ~2 years of observing, 405 cosmic-ray events in the energy range of 1016−1018 eV have been detected in the band from 30−80 MHz. Each of these air showers is registered with up to ~1000 independent antennas resulting in measurements of the radio emission with unprecedented detail. This article describes the dataset, as well as the analysis pipeline, and serves as a reference for future papers based on these data. All steps necessary to achieve a full reconstruction of the electric field at every antenna position are explained, including removal of radio frequency interference, correcting for the antenna response and identification of the pulsed signal.
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9. |
- Sobey, C., et al.
(author)
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LOFAR discovery of a quiet emission mode in PSR B0823+26
- 2015
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 451, s. 2493-2506
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PSR B0823+26, a 0.53-s radio pulsar, displays a host of emission phenomena over time-scales of seconds to (at least) hours, including nulling, subpulse drifting, and mode-changing. Studying pulsars like PSR B0823+26 provides further insight into the relationship between these various emission phenomena and what they might teach us about pulsar magnetospheres. Here we report on the LOFAR (Low-Frequency Array) discovery that PSR B0823+26 has a weak and sporadically emitting ‘quiet’ (Q) emission mode that is over 100 times weaker (on average) and has a nulling fraction forty-times greater than that of the more regularly-emitting ‘bright’ (B) mode. Previously, the pulsar has been undetected in the Q mode, and was assumed to be nulling continuously. PSR B0823+26 shows a further decrease in average flux just before the transition into the B mode, and perhaps truly turns off completely at these times. Furthermore, simultaneous observations taken with the LOFAR, Westerbork, Lovell, and Effelsberg telescopes between 110 MHz and 2.7 GHz demonstrate that the transition between the Q mode and B mode occurs within one single rotation of the neutron star, and that it is concurrent across the range of frequencies observed.
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10. |
- Broderick, J. W., et al.
(author)
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LOFAR 144-MHz follow-up observations of GW170817
- 2020
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 494:4, s. 5110-5117
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present low-radio-frequency follow-up observations of AT 2017gfo, the electromagnetic counterpart of GW170817, which was the first binary neutron star merger to be detected by Advanced LIGO-Virgo. These data, with a central frequency of 144 MHz, were obtained with LOFAR, the Low-Frequency Array. The maximum elevation of the target is just 13 degrees.7 when observed with LOFAR, making our observations particularly challenging to calibrate and significantly limiting the achievable sensitivity. On time-scales of 130-138 and 371-374 d after the merger event, we obtain 3s upper limits for the afterglow component of 6.6 and 19.5mJy beam(-1), respectively. Using our best upper limit and previously published, contemporaneous higher frequency radio data, we place a limit on any potential steepening of the radio spectrum between 610 and 144 MHz: the two-point spectral index alpha(610)(144) greater than or similar to -2.5. We also show that LOFAR can detect the afterglows of future binary neutron star merger events occurring at more favourable elevations.
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11. |
- Coenen, T., et al.
(author)
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The LOFAR pilot surveys for pulsars and fast radio transients
- 2014
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 570, s. 1-16
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have conducted two pilot surveys for radio pulsars and fast transients with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) around 140 MHz and here report on the first low-frequency fast-radio burst limit and the discovery of two new pulsars. The first survey, the LOFAR Pilot Pulsar Survey (LPPS), observed a large fraction of the northern sky, ~ 1.4 × 104 deg2, with 1 h dwell times. Each observation covered ~75 deg2 using 7 independent fields formed by incoherently summing the high-band antenna fields. The second pilot survey, the LOFAR Tied-Array Survey (LOTAS), spanned ~600 deg2, with roughly a 5-fold increase in sensitivity compared with LPPS. Using a coherent sum of the 6 LOFAR “Superterp” stations, we formed 19 tied-array beams, together covering 4 deg2 per pointing. From LPPS we derive a limit on the occurrence, at 142 MHz, of dispersed radio bursts of < 150 day-1 sky-1, for bursts brighter than S> 107 Jy for the narrowest searched burst duration of 0.66 ms. In LPPS, we re-detected 65 previously known pulsars. LOTAS discovered two pulsars, the first with LOFAR or any digital aperture array. LOTAS also re-detected 27 previously known pulsars. These pilot studies show that LOFAR can efficiently carry out all-sky surveys for pulsars and fast transients, and they set the stage for further surveying efforts using LOFAR and the planned low-frequency component of the Square Kilometer Array.
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12. |
- Corstanje, A., et al.
(author)
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The shape of the radio wavefront of extensive air showers as measured with LOFAR
- 2015
-
In: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 61, s. 22-31
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Extensive air showers, induced by high energy cosmic rays impinging on the Earth’s atmosphere, produce radio emission that is measured with the LOFAR radio telescope. As the emission comes from a finite distance of a few kilometers, the incident wavefront is non-planar. A spherical, conical or hyperbolic shape of the wavefront has been proposed, but measurements of individual air showers have been inconclusive so far. For a selected high-quality sample of 161 measured extensive air showers, we have reconstructed the wavefront by measuring pulse arrival times to sub-nanosecond precision in 200 to 350 individual antennas. For each measured air shower, we have fitted a conical, spherical, and hyperboloid shape to the arrival times. The fit quality and a likelihood analysis show that a hyperboloid is the best parameterization. Using a non-planar wavefront shape gives an improved angular resolution, when reconstructing the shower arrival direction. Furthermore, a dependence of the wavefront shape on the shower geometry can be seen. This suggests that it will be possible to use a wavefront shape analysis to get an additional handle on the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum, which is sensitive to the mass of the primary particle.
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13. |
- Hassall, T. E., et al.
(author)
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Differential frequency-dependent delay from the pulsar magnetosphere
- 2013
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 552
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Some radio pulsars show clear "drifting subpulses", in which subpulses are seen to drift in pulse longitude in a systematic pattern. Here we examine how the drifting subpulses of PSR B0809+74 evolve with time and observing frequency. We show that the subpulse period (P-3) is constant on timescales of days, months and years, and between 14-5100 MHz. Despite this, the shapes of the driftbands change radically with frequency. Previous studies have concluded that, while the subpulses appear to move through the pulse window approximately linearly at low frequencies ( 820 MHz) near to the peak of the average pulse profile. We use LOFAR, GMRT, GBT, WSRT and Effelsberg 100-m data to explore the frequency-dependence of this phase step. We show that the size of the subpulse phase step increases gradually, and is observable even at low frequencies. We attribute the subpulse phase step to the presence of two separate driftbands, whose relative arrival times vary with frequency - one driftband arriving 30 pulses earlier at 20 MHz than it does at 1380 MHz, whilst the other arrives simultaneously at all frequencies. The drifting pattern which is observed here cannot be explained by either the rotating carousel model or the surface oscillation model, and could provide new insight into the physical processes happening within the pulsar magnetosphere.
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14. |
- Nelles, A., et al.
(author)
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Calibrating the absolute amplitude scale for air showers measured at LOFAR
- 2015
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In: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 10
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Air showers induced by cosmic rays create nanosecond pulses detectable at radio frequencies. These pulses have been measured successfully in the past few years at the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) and are used to study the properties of cosmic rays. For a complete understanding of this phenomenon and the underlying physical processes, an absolute calibration of the detecting antenna system is needed. We present three approaches that were used to check and improve the antenna model of LOFAR and to provide an absolute calibration of the whole system for air shower measurements. Two methods are based on calibrated reference sources and one on a calibration approach using the diffuse radio emission of the Galaxy, optimized for short data-sets. An accuracy of 19% in amplitude is reached. The absolute calibration is also compared to predictions from air shower simulations. These results are used to set an absolute energy scale for air shower measurements and can be used as a basis for an absolute scale for the measurement of astronomical transients with LOFAR.
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15. |
- Pilia, M., et al.
(author)
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Wide-band, low-frequency pulse profiles of 100 radio pulsars with LOFAR
- 2016
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 586
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. LOFAR offers the unique capability of observing pulsars across the 10−240 MHz frequency range with a fractional bandwidth of roughly 50%. This spectral range is well suited for studying the frequency evolution of pulse profile morphology caused by both intrinsic and extrinsic effects such as changing emission altitude in the pulsar magnetosphere or scatter broadening by the interstellar medium, respectively.Aims. The magnitude of most of these effects increases rapidly towards low frequencies. LOFAR can thus address a number of open questions about the nature of radio pulsar emission and its propagation through the interstellar medium.Methods. We present the average pulse profiles of 100 pulsars observed in the two LOFAR frequency bands: high band (120–167 MHz, 100 profiles) and low band (15–62 MHz, 26 profiles). We compare them with Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) and Lovell Telescope observations at higher frequencies (350 and 1400 MHz) to study the profile evolution. The profiles were aligned in absolute phase by folding with a new set of timing solutions from the Lovell Telescope, which we present along with precise dispersion measures obtained with LOFAR.Results. We find that the profile evolution with decreasing radio frequency does not follow a specific trend; depending on the geometry of the pulsar, new components can enter into or be hidden from view. Nonetheless, in general our observations confirm the widening of pulsar profiles at low frequencies, as expected from radius-to-frequency mapping or birefringence theories.
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16. |
- Hermsen, W., et al.
(author)
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Synchronous X-ray and Radio Mode Switches: A Rapid Global Transformation of the Pulsar Magnetosphere
- 2013
-
In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 339:6118, s. 436-439
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pulsars emit from low-frequency radio waves up to high-energy gamma-rays, generated anywhere from the stellar surface out to the edge of the magnetosphere. Detecting correlated mode changes across the electromagnetic spectrum is therefore key to understanding the physical relationship among the emission sites. Through simultaneous observations, we detected synchronous switching in the radio and x-ray emission properties of PSR B0943+10. When the pulsar is in a sustained radio-"bright" mode, the x-rays show only an unpulsed, nonthermal component. Conversely, when the pulsar is in a radio-"quiet" mode, the x-ray luminosity more than doubles and a 100% pulsed thermal component is observed along with the nonthermal component. This indicates rapid, global changes to the conditions in the magnetosphere, which challenge all proposed pulsar emission theories.
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17. |
- Jackson, N., et al.
(author)
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LBCS: The LOFAR Long-Baseline Calibrator Survey
- 2016
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 595, s. Art no A86-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We outline the LOFAR Long-Baseline Calibrator Survey (LBCS), whose aim is to identify sources suitable for calibrating the highest-resolution observations made with the International LOFAR Telescope, which include baselines > 1000 km. Suitable sources must contain significant correlated flux density (greater than or similar to 50 - 100 mJy) at frequencies around 110-190 MHz on scales of a few hundred milliarcseconds. At least for the 200-300-km international baselines, we find around 1 suitable calibrator source per square degree over a large part of the northern sky, in agreement with previous work. This should allow a randomly selected target to be successfully phase calibrated on the international baselines in over 50% of cases. Products of the survey include calibrator source lists and fringe-rate and delay maps of wide areas-typically a few degrees-around each source. The density of sources with significant correlated flux declines noticeably with baseline length over the range 200-600 km, with good calibrators on the longest baselines appearing only at the rate of 0.5 per sq. deg. Coherence times decrease from 1-3 min on 200-km baselines to about 1 min on 600-km baselines, suggesting that ionospheric phase variations contain components with scales of a few hundred kilometres. The longest median coherence time, at just over 3 min, is seen on the DE609 baseline, which at 227 km is close to being the shortest. We see median coherence times of between 80 and 110 s on the four longest baselines (580-600 km), and about 2 min for the other baselines. The success of phase transfer from calibrator to target is shown to be influenced by distance, in a manner that suggests a coherence patch at 150-MHz of the order of 1 deg. Although source structures cannot be measured in these observations, we deduce that phase transfer is affected if the calibrator source structure is not known. We give suggestions for calibration strategies and choice of calibrator sources, and describe the access to the online catalogue and data products.
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18. |
- Moldón, J., et al.
(author)
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The LOFAR long baseline snapshot calibrator survey
- 2015
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 574
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims. An efficient means of locating calibrator sources for international LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is developed and used to determine the average density of usable calibrator sources on the sky for subarcsecond observations at 140 MHz.Methods. We used the multi-beaming capability of LOFAR to conduct a fast and computationally inexpensive survey with the full international LOFAR array. Sources were preselected on the basis of 325 MHz arcminute-scale flux density using existing catalogues. By observing 30 different sources in each of the 12 sets of pointings per hour, we were able to inspect 630 sources in two hours to determine if they possess a sufficiently bright compact component to be usable as LOFAR delay calibrators.Results. More than 40% of the observed sources are detected on multiple baselines between international stations and 86 are classified as satisfactory calibrators. We show that a flat low-frequency spectrum (from 74 to 325 MHz) is the best predictor of compactness at 140 MHz. We extrapolate from our sample to show that the sky density of calibrators that are sufficiently bright to calibrate dispersive and non-dispersive delays for the international LOFAR using existing methods is 1.0 per square degree.Conclusions. The observed density of satisfactory delay calibrator sources means that observations with international LOFAR should be possible at virtually any point in the sky provided that a fast and efficient search, using the methodology described here, is conducted prior to the observation to identify the best calibrator.
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19. |
- Morabito, L., et al.
(author)
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Sub-arcsecond imaging with the International LOFAR Telescope: I. Foundational calibration strategy and pipeline
- 2022
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 658
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The International LOFAR Telescope is an interferometer with stations spread across Europe. With baselines of up to ∼2000 km, LOFAR has the unique capability of achieving sub-arcsecond resolution at frequencies below 200 MHz. However, it is technically and logistically challenging to process LOFAR data at this resolution. To date only a handful of publications have exploited this capability. Here we present a calibration strategy that builds on previous high-resolution work with LOFAR. It is implemented in a pipeline using mostly dedicated LOFAR software tools and the same processing framework as the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS). We give an overview of the calibration strategy and discuss the special challenges inherent to enacting high-resolution imaging with LOFAR, and describe the pipeline, which is publicly available, in detail. We demonstrate the calibration strategy by using the pipeline on P205+55, a typical LoTSS pointing with an 8 h observation and 13 international stations. We perform in-field delay calibration, solution referencing to other calibrators in the field, self-calibration of these calibrators, and imaging of example directions of interest in the field. We find that for this specific field and these ionospheric conditions, dispersive delay solutions can be transferred between calibrators up to ∼1.5° away, while phase solution transferral works well over ∼1°. We also demonstrate a check of the astrometry and flux density scale with the in-field delay calibrator source. Imaging in 17 directions, we find the restoring beam is typically ∼0.3″ ×0.2″ although this varies slightly over the entire 5 deg2 field of view. We find we can achieve ∼80-300 μJy bm-1 image rms noise, which is dependent on the distance from the phase centre; typical values are ∼90 μJy bm-1 for the 8 h observation with 48 MHz of bandwidth. Seventy percent of processed sources are detected, and from this we estimate that we should be able to image roughly 900 sources per LoTSS pointing. This equates to ∼ 3 million sources in the northern sky, which LoTSS will entirely cover in the next several years. Future optimisation of the calibration strategy for efficient post-processing of LoTSS at high resolution makes this estimate a lower limit.
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20. |
- Oonk, J. B. R., et al.
(author)
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Discovery of carbon radio recombination lines in absorption towards Cygnus A
- 2014
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 437:4, s. 3506-3515
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the first detection of carbon radio recombination line absorption along the line of sight to Cygnus A. The observations were carried out with the Low Frequency Array in the 33–57 MHz range. These low-frequency radio observations provide us with a new line of sight to study the diffuse, neutral gas in our Galaxy. To our knowledge this is the first time that foreground Milky Way recombination line absorption has been observed against a bright extragalactic background source. By stacking 48 carbon α lines in the observed frequency range we detect carbon absorption with a signal-to-noise ratio of about 5. The average carbon absorption has a peak optical depth of 2 × 10−4, a line width of 10 km s−1 and a velocity of +4 km s−1 with respect to the local standard of rest. The associated gas is found to have an electron temperature Te ∼ 110 K and density ne ∼ 0.06 cm−3. These properties imply that the observed carbon α absorption likely arises in the cold neutral medium of the Orion arm of the Milky Way. Hydrogen and helium lines were not detected to a 3σ peak optical depth limit of 1.5 × 10−4 for a 4 km s−1 channel width. Radio recombination lines associated with Cygnus A itself were also searched for, but are not detected. We set a 3σ upper limit of 1.5 × 10−4 for the peak optical depth of these lines for a 4 km s−1 channel width.
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21. |
- Schellart, P., et al.
(author)
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Probing Atmospheric Electric Fields in Thunderstorms through Radio Emission from Cosmic-Ray-Induced Air Showers
- 2015
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 114:16, s. 1-5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present measurements of radio emission from cosmic ray air showers that took place during thunderstorms. The intensity and polarization patterns of these air showers are radically different from those measured during fair-weather conditions. With the use of a simple two-layer model for the atmospheric electric field, these patterns can be well reproduced by state-of-the-art simulation codes. This in turn provides a novel way to study atmospheric electric fields.
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22. |
- Shulevski, A., et al.
(author)
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The peculiar radio galaxy 4C 35.06 : a case for recurrent AGN activity?
- 2015
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 579, s. 1-10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Using observations obtained with the LOw Fequency ARray (LOFAR), the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) and archival Very Large Array (VLA) data, we have traced the radio emission to large scales in the complex source 4C 35.06 located in the core of the galaxy cluster Abell 407. At higher spatial resolution (~ 4″), the source was known to have two inner radio lobes spanning 31 kpc and a diffuse, low-brightness extension running parallel to them, offset by about 11 kpc (in projection). At 62 MHz, we detect the radio emission of this structure extending out to 210 kpc. At 1.4 GHz and intermediate spatial resolution (~ 30″), the structure appears to have a helical morphology. We have derived the characteristics of the radio spectral index across the source. We show that the source morphology is most likely the result of at least two episodes of AGN activity separated by a dormant period of around 35 Myr. The outermost regions of radio emission have a steep spectral index (α< − 1), indicative of old plasma. We connect the spectral index properties of the resolved source structure with the integrated fluxdensity spectral index of 4C 35.06 and suggest an explanation for its unusual integrated flux density spectral shape (a moderately steep power law with no discernible spectral break), possibly providing a proxy for future studies of more distant radio sources through inferring their detailed spectral index properties and activity history from their integrated spectral indices. The AGN is hosted by one of the galaxies located in the cluster core of Abell 407. We propose that it is intermittently active as it moves in the dense environment in the cluster core. In this scenario, the AGN turned on sometime in the past, and has produced the helical pattern of emission, possibly a sign of jet precession/merger during that episode of activity. Using LOFAR, we can trace the relic plasma from that episode of activity out to greater distances from the core than ever before. Using the the WSRT, we detect H I in absorption against the center of the radio source. The absorption profile is relatively broad (FWHM of 288 kms-1), similar to what is found in other clusters. The derived column density is NHI ~ 4 × 1020 cm-2 for a Tspin = 100 K. This detection supports the connection – already suggested for other restarted radio sources – between the presence of cold gas and restarting activity. The cold gas appears to be dominated by a blue-shifted component although the broad H I profile could also include gas with different kinematics. Understanding the duty cycle of the radio emission as well as the triggering mechanism for starting (or restarting) the radio-loud activity can provide important constraints to quantify the impact of AGN feedback on galaxy evolution. The study of these mechanisms at low frequencies using morphological and spectral information promises to bring new important insights in this field.
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23. |
- van Weeren, R. J., et al.
(author)
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First LOFAR observations at very low frequencies of cluster-scale non-thermal emission: the case of Abell 2256
- 2012
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 543, s. Article Number: A43 -
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Abell 2256 is one of the best known examples of a galaxy cluster hosting large-scale diffuse radio emission that is unrelated to individual galaxies. It contains both a giant radio halo and a relic, as well as a number of head-tail sources and smaller diffuse steep-spectrum radio sources. The origin of radio halos and relics is still being debated, but over the last years it has become clear that the presence of these radio sources is closely related to galaxy cluster merger events. Here we present the results from the first LOFAR low band antenna (LBA) observations of Abell 2256 between 18 and 67 MHz. To our knowledge, the image presented in this paper at 63 MHz is the deepest ever obtained at frequencies below 100 MHz in general. Both the radio halo and the giant relic are detected in the image at 63 MHz, and the diffuse radio emission remains visible at frequencies as low as 20 MHz. The observations confirm the presence of a previously claimed ultra-steep spectrum source to the west of the cluster center with a spectral index of -2.3 +/- 0.4 between 63 and 153 MHz. The steep spectrum suggests that this source is an old part of a head-tail radio source in the cluster. For the radio relic we find an integrated spectral index of -0.81 +/- 0.03, after removing the flux contribution from the other sources. This is relatively flat which could indicate that the efficiency of particle acceleration at the shock substantially changed in the last similar to 0.1 Gyr due to an increase of the shock Mach number. In an alternative scenario, particles are re-accelerated by some mechanism in the downstream region of the shock, resulting in the relatively flat integrated radio spectrum. In the radio halo region we find indications of low-frequency spectral steepening which may suggest that relativistic particles are accelerated in a rather inhomogeneous turbulent region.
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24. |
- van Weeren, R. J., et al.
(author)
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Lofar low-band antenna observations of the 3C 295 and boötes fields: Source counts and ultra-steep spectrum sources
- 2014
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 1538-4357 .- 0004-637X. ; 793:2, s. art. 82-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Low Band observations of the Bootes and 3C 295 fields. Our images made at 34, 46, and 62 MHz reach noise levels of 12, 8, and 5 mJy beam(-1), making them the deepest images ever obtained in this frequency range. In total, we detect between 300 and 400 sources in each of these images, covering an area of 17-52 deg(2). From the observations, we derive Euclidean-normalized differential source counts. The 62 MHz source counts agree with previous GMRT 153 MHz and Very Large Array 74 MHz differential source counts, scaling with a spectral index of -0.7. We find that a spectral index scaling of -0.5 is required to match up the LOFAR 34 MHz source counts. This result is also in agreement with source counts from the 38 MHz 8C survey, indicating that the average spectral index of radio sources flattens toward lower frequencies. We also find evidence for spectral flattening using the individual flux measurements of sources between 34 and 1400 MHz and by calculating the spectral index averaged over the source population. To select ultra-steep spectrum (alpha
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25. |
- Yatawatta, S., et al.
(author)
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Initial deep LOFAR observations of epoch of reionization windows I. The north celestial pole
- 2013
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 550, s. A136-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims. The aim of the LOFAR epoch of reionization (EoR) project is to detect the spectral fluctuations of the redshifted HI 21 cm signal. This signal is weaker by several orders of magnitude than the astrophysical foreground signals and hence, in order to achieve this, very long integrations, accurate calibration for stations and ionosphere and reliable foreground removal are essential. Methods. One of the prospective observing windows for the LOFAR EoR project will be centered at the north celestial pole (NCP). We present results from observations of the NCP window using the LOFAR highband antenna (HBA) array in the frequency range 115 MHz to 163 MHz. The data were obtained in April 2011 during the commissioning phase of LOFAR. We used baselines up to about 30 km. The data was processed using a dedicated processing pipeline which is an enhanced version of the standard LOFAR processing pipeline. Results. With about 3 nights, of 6 h each, effective integration we have achieved a noise level of about 100 mu Jy/PSF in the NCP window. Close to the NCP, the noise level increases to about 180 mu Jy/PSF, mainly due to additional contamination from unsubtracted nearby sources. We estimate that in our best night, we have reached a noise level only a factor of 1.4 above the thermal limit set by the noise from our Galaxy and the receivers. Our continuum images are several times deeper than have been achieved previously using the WSRT and GMRT arrays. We derive an analytical explanation for the excess noise that we believe to be mainly due to sources at large angular separation from the NCP. We present some details of the data processing challenges and how we solved them. Conclusions. Although many LOFAR stations were, at the time of the observations, in a still poorly calibrated state we have seen no artefacts in our images which would prevent us from producing deeper images in much longer integrations on the NCP window which are about to commence. The limitations present in our current results are mainly due to sidelobe noise from the large number of distant sources, as well as errors related to station beam variations and rapid ionospheric phase fluctuations acting on bright sources. We are confident that we can improve our results with refined processing.
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